“Well, a few days before Christmas he was out walking with me, and we passed a store not far from where we lived that was full of beautiful candy of all kinds. In front of the windows there was a group of poor children looking in and enjoying the bright paper boxes and plates piled up with tempting candy.
“They were all talking together and saying what kinds of candy they would give one another if they had money enough to buy it. They looked real happy, too, choosing the candy they didn’t have any money to buy.
“‘Poor things!’ I said, ‘I don’t suppose they will have any Christmas presents at all.’
“‘Haven’t they got any money at all?’ your papa asks.
“‘No, I don’t suppose they ever had a cent of their own, unless somebody gave it to them.’
“‘Don’t they ever have any candy at all, or any Christmas presents?’ asks your papa.
“‘I don’t believe they do,’ I answers, ‘but they look just as happy as if they did, and candy isn’t good for little folks, it makes them sick.’
“‘It doesn’t make me sick,’ says your papa, ‘and it tastes real good.’
“He looked very hard at the children, and I could see he felt very badly about their not having any candy, and pretty soon I took him home, for I didn’t want him to worry.